The number of real estate businesses going bankrupt dropped 6% in the final quarter of 2011, according to PwC’s latest insolvency statistics.
In Q4, 123 UK property firms became insolvent, compared to 131 in the previous quarter. In addition, insolvent firms last year totalled 574, a 3.7% decline on 596 recorded in 2010.
Lenders working more closely with borrowers, encouraging them to sell on exposures, and trying to find more solutions to avoid entering administration, are listed as some of the reasons for the fall in cases.
Mark Batten, PwC’s partner in charge of real estate restructuring, said: “The real estate sector is, however, not out of the woods, and funding remains a key challenge with a number of institutions having withdrawn from the market. “
He added that the primary property market had remained stable, but the secondary and tertiary markets remained challenged.
The worst affected sectors in the nation included construction and retail.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
